Chapter 274: Boss Fang Might Have Caused Trouble (Bonus for Ally Luffy919)

"You say... the owner of that shop has left the city at this hour?!" There was no light ahead, and even the breath of life felt exceedingly faint.

So faint that it felt as though one could smell the scent of death at any moment.

Silence, stillness, and a freezing chill constituted the entirety of this place, as if it were a veritable netherworld!

Suddenly, following the rise of that low, gravelly voice—like a ghoul crawling out of a tomb—the entire stone hall was abruptly lit, one after another, by pale flames.

Yet, when these pale flames ignited, they did not bring a single shred of warmth to the stone hall; instead, they made it appear all the more bleak and desolate.

Above the stone hall, a long row of cultivators clad in black cloaks stood on either side, stretching almost all the way to the palace gates!

Judging by the aura exuding from these cultivators, every single one of them possessed immense strength; even the weakest was no lower than the True Lake Realm!

As for the black-robed figure seated right in the center of the stone hall, his aura was terrifying beyond measure, his entire body seemingly shrouded in an ominous darkness that no one would dare to taint themselves with in the slightest!

Through the dim firelight of the hall, one could see a middle-aged man standing in the very center: "It is absolutely true!"

A gust of ghostly wind blew into the hall, causing the pale flames to flicker unpredictably, and the stench of death grew increasingly potent.

On the surface of Half-City, the Defying Heavenly Network Gaming Guild could be considered to have established a firm foothold, having aggressively crippled a Great Cultivator of the Divine Sea Realm before a crowd of nearly a hundred onlookers; no matter how skeptical people were, they had no choice but to believe it was real until new facts were uncovered.

But in the shadows, the various miraculous wonders within the shop naturally could not escape the eyes of those with intentions, and as information gradually leaked out, many factions began to harbor covert schemes.

Power was not something that induced total despair; in the face of greed and profit, a powerful stumbling block could not deter them, not to mention that the number of powerhouses who had been stealthily plotted to death within Half-City was by no means small.

No matter how strong a person was, they would always have a weakness; if they could grasp this point to strike, even characters with the highest cultivation and greatest strength could not escape death!

To investigate such information was not particularly difficult for factions already deeply rooted in this city.

After these days of investigation, they discovered that the headquarters of this shop seemed to be located in a very distant place, which meant that even if there was a powerful backing behind it, it was too far away to help.

Therefore, any worries about future repercussions could be completely dismissed.

Secondly, although the shop could instantly cripple Qin Honglin of the Divine Sea Realm, that was strictly inside the shop.

Outside the shop, though the shop owner possessed great power, it had taken him quite a bit of time to gather energy just to slay a newly freed, weakened Blood Demon.

When slaying Li Huangquan, he similarly failed to display a strength powerful enough to instantly kill a Divine Sea Realm master.

In other words, the strength of this shop owner was limited in its greatness and was not impossible to deal with.

Thus, if they were to start with Fang Qi, secretly capture him, and then interrogate him for the shop's background, it would be a foolproof plan!

"Where did he go?"

"Black Shadow City! I have heard that the Netherworld Palace is the most adept in the Dao of Soul Searching? If there is news, my master hopes..."

"Those Dharma treasures, my Netherworld Palace wants them all!" Within the stone hall, the ghostly wind howled, and suddenly at this exact instant, all the lights extinguished! Within the darkness, it was like the night parade of a hundred ghosts!

...

In Black Shadow City.

This city was still considerably quieter than Jiuhua City, because there were no ordinary people walking on the streets, so the population could not be too dense.

Those coming and going were exclusively cultivators.

"Forgive me for my lifelong indulgence in wild freedom... (Cantonese)" Owner Fang had his hands stuffed in his pockets, blasting his song all the way, enjoying himself immensely as he strolled through Black Shadow City while searching for the location of the Spatial Spirit Stone.

Passing cultivators turned their heads: "..."

This city also appeared to have many more rules than Half-City; at the very least, no Dharma boats would be parked in the sky.

"Should I get a demonic beast to ride sometime?" It seemed that every major city banned flying, and since this place wasn't like Half-City where one could occasionally bend the rules, Fang Qi simply hailed a beast carriage, "Due west! Head toward the city center."

The driver was an ordinary cultivator dressed in gray cloth clothes, so Fang Qi casually asked some questions about the situation of Black Shadow City, about half an hour later.

"Brother, any further ahead and we will reach the City Lord's Estate!" Only then did Fang Qi look up, seeing a massive estate before him, with several luxurious carriages parked in front of the residence; the most eye-catching among them was a snow-white lion, looking exceedingly heroic and martial, leaving one to wonder what kind of figure its master was.

"The City Lord's Estate?" Fang Qi had a look of depression, staring at the high walls and deep courtyard before him, "Giving me a difficult problem on the very first item, isn't this a bit too unfair?"

"Is it possible that an cultured, educated person like this boss would actually sneak into someone's City Lord's Estate to steal treasure?!" Fang Qi looked at the courtyard wall in front of him, thinking to himself, "Where should I climb in...? There wouldn't happen to be a defensive formation or something, right? Are there dogs inside the wall?"

"Brother!" The cultivator spoke up, "If there is nothing else needed, I shall take my leave first!"

"Go on, go on!" Fang Qi waved his hand repeatedly.

Once the man had gone far away, only then did Fang Qi approach the City Lord's Estate; the gates were tightly shut at this time, and there seemed to be no guards temporarily during the night, a point that suited Boss Fang perfectly.

But just as Fang Qi stepped forward.

"Roar~ Roar~" That snow-white lion suddenly bared its teeth and growled at Fang Qi, its face full of ferocity, looking as if it would pounce at any second!

"...No dogs inside the gates, but there's one outside?!" Fang Qi frowned, this seemed to be a bit of trouble.

While he was pondering, the sound of that snow-white lion grew even louder: "Roar! Aw-roar!"

Fang Qi had an expression like he had seen a ghost, casually picking up a brick as he walked up.

"Shut your mouth! Shut your mouth, do you hear me!"

"Thump, thump, thump!"

"You dare to dodge?!"

The snow-white lion lay flat on the ground, and Owner Fang had already smoothly scaled the wall and entered.

At this moment, inside the main gates, a group of people could be seen walking toward the outside; the tightly shut estate gates opened, and a magnificent middle-aged man with graying hair and beard clasped his hands, saying, "The Heavenly Maiden of the South China Sect honoring my humble estate really brings light to my dwelling, however..."

"Will you all not stay a while longer?" The magnificent middle-aged man said, "Could it be that you feel my hospitality has been lacking...?"

A woman in white, along with several men and women dressed in white like celestial beings, stepped out of the gates: "City Lord Huangfu, I still have important matters to attend to, so I will not disturb you further. Little White!"

She beckoned toward the outside of the gates; because she hadn't intended to stay long, the carriage and all its accoutrements were parked outside, and turning her eyes now: "Little..."

"!!??"

They saw the snow-white lion lying on the ground, with a brick dropped right beside it.

"What's going on?! I literally just climbed in, how did the scanner show I've left the estate again?"

As everyone watched a figure jump down from the wall right beside them, their mouths gaped wide open, their minds nearly trembling with shock!

.